COMMON TO BOTH SEXES 265 



keeping their foothold and were constantly obliged to jerk up their tails and flutter their 

 wings in order to preserve their balance . . . They picked off and swallowed the buds in 

 rapid succession, with much the same quick, bobbing motion of the head as that of a 

 domestic fowl feasting on corn." 



Time of Day 



With respect to the periods of the day favored for feeding during different seasons, repre- 

 sentative data are difficult to secure. It is traditional for the times preferred by game species 

 to be early morning and late afternoon or early evening. With respect to the ruffed grouse, 

 however, experience indicates that this concept is not wholly correct although, during the fall 

 and winter, it may hold to a considerable degree. A comparison of the proportion of birds 

 flushed at various times of the day in those cover types primarily offering food as against that 

 in the primarily shelter types fails to show such a relationship during most of the year. This 

 condition may be interpreted in one of two ways; either the birds have no regular feeding 

 time or they find food and shelter sufficiently interspersed to render such a tabulation mean- 

 ingless. While the former, undoubtedly, applies to some extent, particularlv in spring, sum- 

 mer and early fall, the latter is probably the more significant. 



Similarly, observation of tracks in the snow indicates that in winter lhc\ often feed during 

 the middle of the day. At this season, about as many birds are flushed at all hours from roosts 

 as are flushed while feeding. During this period in particular, weather is an important factor, 

 storms in general but wind especially causing grouse to restrict their feeding periods. 



On the other hand, there is considerable evidence to indicate that, when \isiting a certain 

 s|)ot for the express purpose of feeding on some i)arlicular item available there, these birds 

 utilize the early and late hours to a greater exlenl. This habit is particularly prevalent in the 

 fall, a fact well-known to grouse hunters who turn it to their ad\antage. \gaiM. one winli-r. a 

 group of four grouse was noted each evening, just before dusk, to fly into a certain large vellow 

 birch to feed on the buds. This continued regularK for several weeks during February and 

 March. Grinnell'" and Brewster'' record the same habit. Similar ol>ser\aliotis with respect to 

 apple trees and thornapples have been noted. chiefl\ during the fall. Hut whether such obser- 

 vatitms represent the whole of a given feeding period or merely one sto|) in ;i jicriod of much 

 longer duration is not known. In an\ case il seems probable that this t\ pc of ri'lalimiship 

 occurs ])ritnarily during fall and winter. 



Mating Habits 



In iSew \ ork the breeding season for ruffed grouse connnences in late March. Although 

 drumming may be noted occasionally at any season, it is now heard frequently in all grouse 

 coverts. Data indicate that the majority of nesting females lay their first egg sometime 

 shortly after the middle of April. The period during which mating is at its height extends from 

 mid-April through early May. although recurrences occur in the case of main birds whose 

 first clutch is destroyed. 



